Lighting in industrial and other environments presents a number of problems in obtaining the desired lighting characteristics for a particular work application. Intensity of the light, tint of the light, and glare characteristics of the light are some of the major characteristics of the light which may need to be adjusted for particular applications.
Increasing the overall amount of light to obtain the desired intensity may also increase the glare from the lighting source which actually can make it more difficult to see. Glare is a major contributor to worker fatigue and increases the possibility of worker error. Increasing the intensity of light from a light source also can present problems with respect to heat generated by the lighting source. As an example, enclosed high output fluorescent lights require water cooling to perform correctly. The increased complexity introduced by water cooling increases the initial cost, decreases reliability, increases maintenance costs and is undesirable in many industrial applications.
Attempts to increase the intensity of lighting in desired work areas is not as straightforward as it would appear. If, for example, existing strip fluorescent light fixtures are being used, simply changing a two tube fixture to a four tube fixture may not provide a significant increase in lighting intensity in the area in which the lighting is desired, although it will certainly increase both glare and operating costs. While new fixtures utilizing different types of lighting are an option, in most industrial and commercial situations, there already exists a large investment in existing high output and other types of strip fluorescent light fixtures. Any change to totally new lighting systems, such as halogen lights, would require rewiring and re-engineering which would be prohibitively expensive for most businesses.
Other problems with lighting in industrial applications are arising from new methods of conducting business among commercial establishments. Whether a manufacturer or service company, businesses have adopted methods which involve frequent changes in the products they provide and therefore the physical facilities that they inhabit. For example, a manufacturer may change a product on a yearly basis. Another example is fruit sorting establishments where the fruit sorted changes with the season. In businesses experiencing frequent changes in their physical plant, there is a need for commercial lighting that can be readily adjusted to the new requirement. Unfortunately, most existing fixtures do not provide much flexibility in adapting the light fixture for different levels of intensity, tint control, or glare characteristics. The only options may be to change the types of tubes in an existing fixture which has a limited effect, or have different fixtures for different applications, which also can be prohibitively expensive.
As seen from the above discussion, there are a number of desirable characteristics for tuning strip fluorescent light fixtures to improve the intensity, tint, and glare characteristics in existing strip fluorescent light fixtures. It would be desirable to have a high intensity lighting system which can be retrofitted to an existing strip fluorescent light fixture. It also would be desirable to have a high output strip fluorescent light fixture which can be adjusted for intensity, tint, and glare characteristics of the light it emits. Further, it would be desirable to have a high output strip fluorescent light fixture which would be used without special cooling requirements or rewiring.
While the discussion here relates to a method and apparatus for tuning strip fluorescent light fixtures to improve the intensity, tint, and glare characteristics in existing strip fluorescent light fixtures, it is not intended that the invention be limited to this situation. It will be obvious from the description that follows that the present invention will be useful in other applications with problems common to those described herein.